moa999:
What are the figures though. I suspect the total amount spent in Asia over the last five years is less than the projected loss for the half.
I'm sorry Moa, but you just dont get it. There are actually FOUR costs associated with the investment:
1. The actual investment cost which you quoted.
2. The OPPORTUNITY COST - which is the amount you could have earned/saved if you had invested that money in a more profitable activity.
3. The cost of management and Board time spent discussing analyzing and decision making on the Asian JQ ventures. This is not an inconsiderable sum.
4. But the granddaddy of them all is the MANAGEMENT OPPORTUNITY COST which is how much money QF could have made if management were investing ALL their time and investment on other opportunities, like fixing the Qantas brand itself rather than wasting time chasing Asian phantoms.
I see this behaviour all the time in sports - people focussing all their time and attention on trying to get one tiny and inconsequential thing right, while the rest of their game goes to hell.
By these metrics, the Asian ventures have killed Qantas because the Board and management has lost focus on the main game. This is why the current parlous state of Qantas finance seems such a surprise to Alan Joyce - it was a surprise, because the stupid prick wasnt watching the important bits.